Beavers snatch point to deflate Blues

Hampton came from a goal behind to pick up a deserved point in the match of two halves.

A very cagey first 20 minutes had a shadow cast across it as Rowan Liburd had to be stretchered off after just 18 minutes, after he landed very awkwardly following an attempted header.

3 minutes later, the Blues had their lead. In bringing the ball out from the back, following a corner, Mark Onyemah was adjudged to handled the ball, which looked more like a bad bounce up to his arm. However, the penalty was given and Ricky Sappleton made no mistake and rammed the spot kick past Seb Brown.

Billericay were making all of the play at this point. Obafemi managed to get to a Sappleton cross before Kieran Murphy, but the deflection went up and over the bar.

The Beavers defence was having to work very hard as the Blues pressed relentlessly and Liburd's replacement, Harry Baker, managed to blaze a shot wide when it would have been easier to put it on target.

Hampton held on until the break and came out much better in the second half.

Jerome Federico had been kept quiet in the first period, but on 49 minutes, he managed to find space, and whip in a cross for Duncan Culley at the back post, but Culley wasn't quite able to get over it and the header went over.

It was now the Beavers doing the majority of the pressing and on the hour, they nearly levelled it as Culley managed to break the offside trap and take the ball round keeper Joe Wright. However, he was now very wide and his shot was cleared away by a covering defender.

It was now starting to look like it would just be a matter of time before the Beavers got their equaliser, and on 71 minutes they did. A Ryan Newman free kick from the left was met at the back post by Moussa Diarra and Wright was left grasping at air as the ball bounced past him.

3 minutes later, Obafemi looked to having spoilers in mind as he cut inside from the left, but his curling shot from the edge of the box was always going wide.

Jake Rose looked to be clear on goal with some 10 minutes to go, but his shot was parried by Wright and the series of corners that followed came to nothing and both teams had to settle for a point.